Maritime and Coastguard Agency chief executive Virginia McVea has characterised tug operators as “critical national capability” while announcing the reinstatement of the specialist Eleven 02 survey service for larger tugs during her address at the British Tugowners Association Annual Conference in Belfast “The much-loved Eleven 02 survey service will be Read more…
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency will fundamentally transform seafarer certification from September 2025, ending an outdated system that forced mariners to start over when switching vessel types while introducing digital assessments that replace memorisation with practical skills application “The roles of seafarers may not have changed in decades, but Read more…
The British Tugowners Association (BTA) held its AGM and Annual Conference at the historic Belfast Harbour Commissioners, drawing over 80 delegates from the UK, European ’s towage and wider maritime community. This year’s conference brought into focus key themes including maritime decarbonisation, emergency response, future fuels, and industry resilience. The Read more…
The British Tugowners Association is delighted to announce registrations are now live for its 90th Annual General Meeting, Conference and Dinner 2025. The BTA will be celebrating its 90th year – 1934 – 2025 – in Belfast on 6-7 May. Please come and celebrate with us! This year’s gathering will Read more…
The 2024 BTA Annual Safety Seminar was held on Thursday, 14 November, at The Leith Cruise Terminal in Edinburgh, kindly hosted by Forth Ports. The event welcomed over 100 attendees, including representatives from towage operators, pilots, port and harbour authorities, insurers, accident investigators, regulators, and manufacturers. The report of proceedings Read more…
The British Tugowners Association (BTA) is delighted to announce that nominations for the 2025 Tug Trainee of the Year Award are now open. The BTA’s Tug Trainee of the Year Award, kindly sponsored for Sanmar Shipyards, is now live and open for nominations, and will award its the recipient at the Read more…
Following the annual BTA Conference, Edwin Lampert from Riviera Maritime wrote an article on the presentation by Dr Phil Thompson of BMT on ‘bringing out the best in people using the synthetic tug master and pilot training environment’. The BTA extends its gratitude to the speakers and Edwin for their expertise and professionalism, Read more…
The British Tugowners Association AGM, Conference & Dinner took place at the Wotton House, Dorking, on 1 May 2024. The event brought together over 100 industry leaders, experts, and regulators with the conference focus on the most important of issues, People & Skills. The preceding day (30 April) saw members Read more…
Following the annual BTA Conference, Edwin Lampert from Riviera Maritime wrote an article on the presentation by Simwave’s Ryan Verhagen on how their simulators can significantly enhance emergency response scenarios. The BTA extends its gratitude to the speakers and Edwin for their expertise and professionalism, which contributed to the success of the conference. Read more…
The British Tugowners Association is delighted to be partnering with Seawork in 2024 as the event celebrates its 25th anniversary edition. The next Harbour Towage Panel is set to take place 11 June 15:30 – 17:30 at Seawork – the leading European commercial marine exhibition in Southampton running 11-13 June. Read more…